Silk Road
by Raven Carmichael
Summary: A desperate man trying to save the one he loves and the long arm of the Law gets in the way. Give it a read, you know you want to. Rated T to be safe and some elements of angst.


Greetings fellow Mikita fans! Here's another story from me. It's something that I wrote for my Sociology class; and I decided to change the characters to Michael and Nikita because I felt like it could be a Mikita pairing fic. I know that the Silk Road website is, in a nutshell, a different, Black Market-esque version of eBay given that it's used to purchase drugs and what could be stolen goods; but I want to put my own spin on things and make it a tad more interesting for lack of a better word. On with the story and remember, constructive criticism and reviews are good, flames are not!

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In a darkened street with scattered street lamps is a decent looking house in a decent looking neighbourhood. Tall, leafy, deciduous trees stand perfectly still like soldiers waiting for the next command from a superior officer. A disheveled looking man sits in his home office, with only the bright light from his expensive fruit brand laptop illuminating his face. The man looked as if he just woke up from a terrible nightmare. His eyes were red, puffy and bloodshot and his hands wouldn't stop shaking like a leaf. He tried to steady his hands as he typed in the chat box that popped up on his screen.

_TinMan24: Do you have the shipment ready?_

_KingPin420: Yes. Just show up at the appointed hour at the location you were just given. Remember, just you, no one else. If we get even the slightest tip that you are being followed, let's just say that there's going to be consequences._

_TinMan24: I understand._

_KingPin420: Good._

_*KingPin420 has logged off Chat. Would you like to return to Silk Road?*_

The man clicked the "No" button on the conversation window and proceeded to shut off his laptop. He then got up from his chair and made his way from his home office toward his bedroom so he can get whatever sleep he could. As he took off his robe, brown slippers and slid under the covers, he gazed longingly at the other side of the bed where his beautiful wife slept peacefully beside him. His heart ached at the fact that his beloved Nikita was plagued with cancer and had to be put on chemotherapy to help keep the deadly disease at bay.

It broke his heart into a million tiny pieces as he watched his soul mate go through so much pain. She tried to hide it by telling him that she will get through this and that this cancer thing will get its' arse kicked from here to the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy; but he knows that she's just trying to put on a brave face for the kids' sake so that they will focus on their schoolwork and not her. Kara is in the 5th grade this year and she's slowly becoming the spitting image of her mother and Nathaniel (Nate for short), is in the 7th grade and is on the school basketball team. Both children are busy with school and in Nate's case, practice, home and road games against other high schools in the area.

The hospital allowed his wife to go home for a few days before she had to go back to the hospital for more chemotherapy. The man sighed as he bowed his head at the thought of his wife having to go back to the hospital. To him, the chemotherapy is just prolonging the inevitable and he would much rather see his Nikita go peacefully and pain-free than to see her chained 24/7 to the chemo machine. The man then laid down on the bed, closed his eyes and slept a dreamless sleep.

A few days passed and his wife was back in the hospital. The man was preparing to go meet the seller, who only went by his screen name KingPin420, for the medical marijuana that he bought from him a few weeks ago that can help his wife with the pain that the cancer is causing her. He got the money to pay for the drug and his car keys and proceeded to head out the door. He didn't need to worry about his kids ever finding out about this because Kara is going to see a movie with her friends after school and Nate has a game to prepare for so he will be at the school gymnasium practicing. The man will go, pay for his purchase and will be home in time to watch "The Tonight Show". The man then got into his black Hyundai Sonata, started the vehicle, backed slowly out from the driveway and drove off in the direction of the pier where he'll meet with KingPin420.

The man arrived at the pier just after sunset. The sky was a mixture of orange, red and pink as the golden orb that is the sun slowly sinks beneath the horizon. The man turned off the ignition and got out of the car. He walked over towards the edge of the pier where concrete meets water and waited. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming up from behind him, his heart raced as the sound got louder and louder. Afraid to turn around, the man whispered as the sound stopped, "Are you KingPin420?" "Yes." Came the bone-chilling response. The man then slowly turned around to face the seller and was shocked at what he saw.

KingPin420 looked like any normal person that one would see walking on the street. He wore a dark 3-piece business suit complete with a white dress-shirt and a dark purple tie tied in a Windsor knot. The seller's face was hard to see given the lighting was dim and that it was slowly getting dark but his face looked like the kind of face that you would see if you came face to face with the head of the Italian Mafia minus the weight and bling. "Do you have the money?" KingPin420 asked point-blank. "Yes, I have it right here." The man said nervously as he pulled out the stack of bills from his jacket pocket. KingPin420 then took out a small manila envelope containing the medical marijuana and held it out for the man to take and held out his free hand for the money. The man put the money in KingPin420's left hand and took the envelope from his right. KingPin420 smiled a polite business smile and said, "It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr…" KingPin420 trailed off as he didn't quite get the mans' name during their online transaction. "Westly. Michael Westly." Michael replied. "It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Westly, Have a nice evening." KingPin420 said, the business smile back on his face. "You too." Michael said as he turned back and made his way toward his car. Michael then re-started the engine and drove away from the pier and made his way homeward.

The next morning, a series of loud knocks was heard at the front door. Michael groggily dragged himself out of bed, lazily put on his robe and slippers and made his way downstairs to see who it was that woke him up at 5 in the morning. Michael opened the door and saw two men dressed in gray suits and black ties complete with brown Ray Ban sunglasses. "Can I help you two gentlemen with something?" Michael asked as his brain started to become more alert and awake. "Are you Michael Westly?" One of the men asked. "Yes, I'm Michael Westly, can I help you?" Michael asked again. "Yes you can. I'm Special Agent Naviski and this is Special Agent Kaine. We're with the FBI." Agent Naviski answered as he showed Michael his badge. "The FBI? Why is the FBI showing up on my doorstep? Did I commit a crime?" Michael asked. "_They couldn't have found out about the drugs now did they?_" Michael thought nervously as he tried to maintain his poker face.

"We have been monitoring this website called Silk Road. Have you heard of it?" Agent Kaine asked as he removed his sunglasses. "N...no, can't say that I have." Michael replied. "_Nice going Einstein. Now they're going to figure out that you've been buying drugs online_." Michael's mind chimed in. "Are you sure, because we just found a record of a transaction that occurred just last night between a KingPin420 and someone named TinMan24." Agent Naviski said. "_No! How did they know?!_" Michael thought as he inwardly started to panic. "_They're the FBI, you doofus. They know everything. It's kind of their job, you know_." Michael's mind chimed in once again. Seeing the panicked look on Michael's face, Agent Naviski instantly put two and two together and said, "We're going have to take you in for some questioning." The agent finished as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Agent Naviski then put the handcuffs on Michael and led him toward one of the GMC SUVs that were parked outside Michael's house. As Michael rode in the backseat of the SUV, he thought miserably to himself, "_What have I done?_"

After being brought to the FBI headquarters in a part of the nearby city, Michael was questioned relentlessly about his involvement with the Silk Road website and Michael finally confessed that he was TinMan24 and that he was on the site to purchase some medical marijuana for his wife who's suffering from cancer. He made sure to purchase within the legal amount so he did not break the Law in any way. The FBI then questioned Michael some more before finally releasing him some hours later, asking another agent to drive Michael home. Before Michael left, Agent Naviski gave him this warning, "If we ever catch you buying drugs on Silk Road again, next time we wouldn't be this nice and let you go home scott-free." Michael nodded in agreement as the agent that was to drive him home led him out of the building.

_The FBI shut down the Silk Road website on October 2nd, 2013. They arrested Ross William Ulbricht on charges of alleged murder-for-hire and drug trafficking violations. They also identified him as the founder and chief operator "Dread Pirate Roberts". On November 6th, 2013, it was reported that another website named "Silk Road 2.0" was online and it was being run by the former administrators of the original Silk Road website; and a different user was now using the name, "Dread Pirate Roberts" now that the original user (Ulbricht) was caught and put behind bars. The website is still online today._

FIN


End file.
